Watch



Oct. 17, 1933. A. WENGER Er AL 1,931,277

WATCH Filed July 7, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l LJ u r 0 l l.

Oct. 17, 1933. A. WENGER Er AL WATCH Filed July 7, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented oct. 17, 1933 UN-ir ED STATE s 1,931,277 I WATCH` vAndrewenger and Edouard Wenger, Geneva,

Switzerland Application July 7, 1931, Serial No. 549174 and inI Switzerland July 15, 1930 3 Claims.

Thisinve'ntion rela-tes toa watch with a covered dial.

Itis characterized by the feature that the watchY isf so constructed that the movements of Ii. the dialV lid effect the winding ofthe watch.

The accompanying drawings show three ex amples of construction of a watch according to the: invention, which is in the form of a wrist watch; of these f F'igs.V l and 2' are respectively front views of the closedV andv opened watch according to the first example;

Fig. 3' is a View thereof from below after the lid hasy been. removed;

Figs. 4 and 5 are two v longitudinal sections thereof., which show various parts in different positions; Y

Figs. 6 and 'l are front views of the watch ac cording to the second example and in which the mi have been taken out; and

Fig. 8` is a similar View of` the third example. -The wrist Watch according to Figs. vl to has a. casing a consisting of the rectangular middle portion b, a bottom c iixed by means of an indent, v a bezel d formed with the middle part of the casing and a lid e which is fittedV so that it can; swing about f and which is kept in its closed position by means of a closing clasp g, Lugs hof the middle portion of the casing have pins i for the `.'d purpose of supporting the band y'.

The lid' e has a toothed circular sector k which engages with a tooth l of a generally U shaped slide m. This' slide m is arranged so as to be slidable longitudinally in the `middle portion b i of the casing and is acted upon by two springs 'il which give it the tendency to go into the position corresponding to the closed lid. It also has afpusher o, which lies inan opening p of a side plate q of the middle portion 'of the casing, be-

'401 tween the two lugs h. A complete plate r connects the other two lugs h and has the same ap pearance the plate q and the pusher o so that the casing a has a symmetrical shape.

Thevtoothed wheel s, which engages in the teeth 4.5l of the spring barrel, meshes with a toothed Wheel t provided with a ratchet wheel u. The pawl 'u of this ratchet wheel is swingably secured 'at 'w on one arm of the slide m in such a manner that every pressure exerted on the pusher o for the purpose of opening the lid results in a rotation of the ratchet Wheel u by means of the pawl v. An L shaped spring :c acts upon the pawl and rests on a guiding disc y, arranged so as to be rotatable about e. By rotating this guiding disc y, the strength of the spring action can be adjusted. In order that the spring of the clockwork should not be Wound beyond a given limit', the guiding disc y is adjusted so* that the pawl :U at'the given instant jumps from tooth toA tooth over the ratchet wheel u Without further winding the clockwork spring.

The Watch described is operated as followsi-- In Figs. 1, 3 and 4 the lid e is closed, the slide m and the pusher o are on the left (Fig. 41), the springs n are somewhat compressed and the pawl' v does not touch the ratchet wheel' u.

If now one wishes to read the time, the pusher o is operated from left toright (Fig. 4). Its tooth Z acts upon the toothed sector 1c and' effects the opening of the lid' by overcoming the re'- sistance of the closing clasp g. Owing to the said displacement of the pusher o and, conse:- quently, of the slide mythe springs n are compressed and the pawl c. rotates the ratchet wheel u-assuming that the tension limit of the clock- Work spring has not been reached-andl the clockwork spring is thus wound up (Fig. 5).

On releasinguthe pusher o, the springs n return the slide mr into its initial position, andv the lid e is closed.` Y

The adjustment of the time is effected by means of a crown fitted in the casing a.

The Wrist Watch according to Figs. 6A and 7 again` consists of a casing a, Va middle portion b ofthe casing, a bottom c, as Well'as a slide m` which is approximately U-sha-ped. The slide m is again moved in the middle portion b ol' the casing by acting on the pusher lo against the action of the springs n.

The movements impartedv to the slide m also effect an uncovering of the dial in the man-ner already described. v

The slide m is provided with va slot 1 which is arranged in its direction of movement and in Whicha member 2 carrying the pawl vean move. The pawl i: is in this case also intended to rotate the ratchet wheel located at u.

The to and fro movement of the slide m vis transmitted to the member 2' through a spring 3 which, on the one hand* is xed to the slide at 4 and, on the other hand, presses with its free end at 5 against the said member. Consequently, assuming that a suiiiciently strong resistance does not act against the spring 3, the member 2 moves with the slide m in the same manner as if it were xed thereto.

If, however, during the winding of the watch eiected by the movements of the slide, the increasingly stressed spring of the clockwork opposes an increasing resistance to the winding, it

will finally happen that the pawl v can no longer operate the ratchet wheel u, since the spring 3 will then yield, and the movements of the slide will remain inoperative on the ratchet wheel u. Fig. 7 shows the forwardly pushed slide m, which, although it has therefore uncovered the dial. has not taken the member 2 with it, on accountant the yielding of the spring 3.

Obviously the winding ceases earlier or later according to the tension of the spring 3. In order to be able to adjust this tension, an eccentric 6 is provided, which acts upon a lever arm of the spring 3 and renders the tension of this spring adjustable as desired. A screw permits this eccentric to be screwed tight in the chosen position.

Since the pawl v does not now have to escape the ratchet wheel, it is advisable to provide it with more than one tooth. Instead of the pawl a rack could be used.

The wrist watch according to Fig. 8 likewise consists of a casing a. a middle portion b of the casing. a bottom c, as well as a slide which is not represented but the direction of movement oi which is indicated by an arrow F and to which a pin 7 belongs. The pin 'l is normally in the position represented by a full line and, when the watch is uncovered, is in the position 7 indicated by a dotted line. Springs, likewise not represented, return the slide and the pin l'I into their position of rest as soon as one no longer acts upon them.

At 8 the ratchet wheel is represented, which serves for winding the clockwork; the clockwork itself has not been represented.

At 10, at the bottom of the casing a lever is Dtvetally Qtted on a screw 9. To the free end ot this lever there is pivotally fitted the pawl 11.. which is continually pressed to the ratchet wheel 8 by the action of the spring 12. The eilect of the pressure is that the pawl continually engages` in the wheel.

An elastic member i. e., a fiat spring 13, which issecured by means of a screw 14 in a groove oi' a carrier 15, presses on the lever 10 to which there is therefore imparted the tendency to bear continually on the pin 7. In this way the movements performed by the pin 7 are impartedpto the lever l0. which will then swing out of its position of rest in opposition to the action of the spring 13. The position oi the different parts which is given in broken lines corresponds to position 'I' of the pin 7.

uncovering the dial, the pin 7 is displaced with the result that the lever 10, the pawl 11 and the spring 13 are likewise displaced to 10', 11j' `and 13' respectively, and the pawl `jumps baci: a few teeth on the locking Wheel 8.

the slide, the pin '7 returns to its initial position, whilst the lever 10 is left under the influence of the spring 13. The spring 13 will return the lever 10 to its initial position up against the pin 7, so that the pawl, withdrawn from the position 1l' to 11, will eil'ect a rotation of the ratchet wheel 8 in the winding direction.

The mode of operation just described of the spring 13 can naturally only take place if the force necessary for rotating the ratchet Wheel 8 is smaller than the corresponding force due to the spring 13. Should these forces balance each other, or even the retaining action of the ratchet wheel preponderate, the various members would remain in the positions 10', 11' and 13' respectively until the winding can again be effected owing to the release of the clockwork spring. At this instant the various members will return to their initial positions 10, 11 and 13 respectively.

Obviously, the tension at which the clockwork is again wound, depends upon the forcel. e., the tensionof the spring 13. This tension can be adjusted by shifting the spring in the groove of the holder and fixing it in the desired position by means of the screw 14.

What we claim and desire to secure `by Letters Patent of the United States of America ls:-

1. In a watch having clockwork and a dial and a lid therefor, a pivoted lever, a ratchet connected to the clockwork, a pawl engaged by the free end of said lever and in turn engaging said ratchet, a slide member for engaging said lever and moving same when the lid is opened, in a direction to ratchet idly over the ratchet wheel, a spring-safety member engaging against said lever, said slide also tensioning said springsafety member when the lid is opened, the closing of the lid releasing said spring-safety device whereby an opposite and winding movement of the ratchet is effected.

2. In a watch having clockwork and a dial and a lid therefor, a pivoted lever, a ratchet connected to the clockwork, a pawl engaged by the free end of said lever and in turn engaging said ratchet, a slide member for engaging said lever and moving same when the lid is opened, in a direction to ratchet idly over the ratchet wheel,

a spring-safety member engaging against the upper side of said lever, said member being adjustably mounted by one end in the case and its power being variable by varying its effective length.

3. In a watch having clockwork and a dial and a lid therefor, a pivoted lever, a spring at the lower side of the free outer end of the lever, a pawl pivoted to said free end, said spring bearing against said pawl so that said spring presses said pawl `against lthe winding-ratchet wheel of the clockwork, an auxiliary spring co-operating with the middle of the upper side of said lever, a slide member co-operating with the lid, said slide pivoting the lever in a direction for ratcheting idly over said ratchet, and thereby tensioning said auxiliary spring, when the lid is opened, the slide, when closing the lid, releasing sald auxiliary spring and returning said lever, whereby the pawl operates said ratchet in the Winding direction.

ANDR WENGER. EDOUARD WENGER. 14o 

